Migrant Realities
On board a Gulam Express of the Indian Railways
The train is officially named Shalimar Express and bears the number 22641. Since it covers Chennai, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal en route Kolkata, it attracts a large number of travellers, most of them workers from Bengal who have been toiling in manual jobs in the south…The Indian Railways has come up with an ingenious solution: all those who want to travel in the reserved bogies can pay a fine of Rs.500 per head, get a receipt and do so. The TTEs at each stop board new passengers and collect the fines.
Railways’ policies lead to face-offs between TTEs and migrant workers on trains from Kerala
Kerala has 30 lakh migrant workers; hardly 13 trains operate to migrant heartlands; Railways issue an indiscriminate number of waiting list tickets, leading to crowding on trains. The murder of travelling ticket examiner (TTE) V. Vinod by a ticketless migrant worker in Thrissur in April has brought to light the apathy of Railways in addressing the issues faced by both passengers and officials on trains from Kerala to the migrant heartlands in the northern and north eastern states.
The Gig Economy
Divided Directions: India’s varied roadmap for governance of platform workers
Disparate state-wise laws and registration processes for a nationwide platform seem impractical. India must construct a robust regulatory framework situated in its own context and legacy, and suiting its global aspirations.
Indian Gig Workers Toil at Frontlines of AI revolution
Akash and Ikshita engage in online work. Gig workers in India train AI models through microtasks. India emerges as a data annotation hub with a potential $8.22 billion global market and a million-strong workforce by 2028.
Dying at Work
Kerala TV journalist killed in elephant attack while shooting herd crossing river
Video journalist AV Mukesh was rushed to the Palakkad district hospital after sustaining injuries in the tusker attack, but he could not be saved
Ludhiana: Two labourers killed in boiler explosion at rubber factory
Two labourers were killed after a boiler exploded at a rubber factory in Jaspal Bangar area on Wednesday late night. The explosion’s impact was such that apart from factory’s walls, the windowpanes of nearby factories and houses were also damaged.
2 sanitation workers die cleaning septic tank at Noida home
Two sanitation workers died while cleaning a septic tank at a private residence in Noida Sector 26, Friday. Police said they fell unconscious after inhaling poisonous gas from the tank and were rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared them dead. Police said no case has been registered in the matter so far.
Virudhunagar blast | Negligence led to explosion, say police
Virudhunagar district police have blamed negligent handling of explosives by the workers at the explosive storage unit in Kariyapatti for the blast that claimed three lives on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Two out of the four partners who were running the explosive storage unit have been arrested
Women in the Workforce
Can’t keep a determined woman down, shows Kerala’s first woman toddy tapper
Toddy, the fermented sap of coconut flowers, is a favourite of Kerala tipplers, who are mostly men. As are most toddy tappers. Till C Sheeja (40) joined the trade in 2019. A resident of Panniyode, near Koothuparamba, she got a toddy tapping licence from Koothuparamba Excise Range in Kannur. She climbs around 10 palm trees every day, each tree thrice, early morning and late evening, to extract toddy.
News from States
SC stays HC order scrapping teachers' jobs, favours segregating tainted ones
SC says unfair to set aside over 24000 teachers' appointments in West Bengal. The top court, however, made it clear that the teachers and non-teaching staff, whose appointments were cancelled by the High Court, will have to refund their salaries and other emoluments if it reaches the conclusion that their recruitment was illegal.
52 contractual workers of DCW sacked after LG nod to WCD’s proposal
The women and child development department of Delhi govt has terminated the services of 52 contractual workers allegedly hired “illegally” by Delhi Commission for Women in 2016.
73 entities found defying Labour Day norms in TN's Thoothukudi, served show-cause notices
The move came after the department officials carried out a field inspection at Thoothukudi, Kovilpatti, Vilathikulam, Tiruchendur, Srivaikuntam, Sathankulam areas on Wednesday to check if any firm employed labourers without filing the Form 5A, which provides compensatory leave or double salary for working on general holidays, sources said
Why Jharkhand wants its migrants home in time for voting
Saraikela-Kharsawan is among several districts in Jharkhand that, along with the state’s Labour department, have for the first time undertaken a coordinated effort to urge migrant labourers to return home to vote.
Jobseekers
Mantri for emigration: Global demographic trends creating huge opportunity for workers; GOI needs full-time minister to tap it
India topped the remittance global chart in 2023 with an inflow of $125 billion, or 3.4% of GDP. That was a direct boost to the income of millions of families. As a report in TOI (The Great Indian Outplacement, May 5) showed, a number of families that benefitted from it would have to thank children who are engaged in blue-collar work. People are our greatest asset, if govts take steps to harness this resource.
Policy Changes
Centre Asks States to Exclude Stubble Burners from MSP Benefits This Year Onwards
Centre implements Supreme Court suggestion to exclude stubble burners from MSP. Punjab, Haryana to tighten enforcement as paddy cultivation areas rise. CoS directs 'red entry' to bar farmers from benefits, seeking exclusion from MSP operations in 2024-25.
High-powered committee to implement breaks for food, nature's call for train drivers
The Ministry of Labour has constituted a high-powered committee to work out the modalities "to provide defined time intervals for food and attending calls of the nature while on duty for the Loco Running Staff of the Indian Railway". The initiative is in line with the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919, which has been ratified by India.
Election Issues
Modi’s scheme to double farmers’ income goes on overdrive during elections, stalls otherwise
PM AASHA, a crop price support scheme, saw real spending only in the months around 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Three years in between the two general elections, the government did not spend a single rupee on the scheme.
Lok Sabha Elections 2024: 'High cost' of voting deters migrant workers from taking part in polls
From leave without pay, threats of wage theft and job loss to lofty travel expenses, including the expected gifts for family members, the cost of being able to vote is pretty high for migrant labourers in the country.
'Never Saw Water in My Taps. One Baramati is Made of Gold, The Other is all Ash'
VIDEO: Besides a prosperous Baramati, a vikas model Pawars are proud of, villages have only seen dry taps for generations.
Forest Workers
An 11-member team, 10 hours, exploding pine cone: Dousing a forest fire in Uttarakhand
As Uttarakhand records close to 1,000 forest fires this year, The Indian Express accompanied a forest team as they worked to put out a blaze.
Layoffs and Hirings
Google to move some ‘Core team’ jobs to India and Mexico: What top executives told employees in town hall and internal memos.
Google laid off 200 employees from its Core teams, relocating roles to India and Mexico. Downsizing impacted engineering in Sunnyvale. Core teams focus on technical foundation, user safety, Python tools, infrastructure, and app platforms.
Tech layoffs cross 70,000 in April 2024: Google, Apple, Intel, Amazon, and these companies cut hundreds of jobs
In April 2024, major companies like Tesla, Google, and Apple experienced significant job cuts, affecting over 20,000 employees globally. Apple, Google's teams, Amazon, Byju's, Ola Cabs, Healthifyme, Whirlpool also faced layoffs.
Research
Protecting Indian migrant labour from underground economy train tickets
Migrant workers are one of the main users of the trains of Indian Railways. They use trains to travel between remote or rural areas in India and the cities for work. However, illicit marketeers can exploit security issues in the Indian Railways website to sell train tickets at very high prices. This takes hard earned money away from some of the poorest people in Indian society.
Campaign Workers
Coomi Kapoor writes: BJP workers’ anger has made party vulnerable in this election
If the BJP appears more vulnerable than its earlier predictions suggested,it is not merely because of voter apathy and lower turnout. The party has assessed that there was a discernible drop in worker enthusiasm in the first two rounds of voting. …Many karyakartas are finding it hard to reconcile with the changing face of the BJP. “You cannot order us to blacken a corrupt Congress leader’s face one day and then turn around and ask us to campaign for him the next,” a BJP worker protested..
Poverty pushes labourers in A.P. to participate in election campaigning amidst severe heatwave
Since construction works are suspended due to the scorching sun and heatwaves, we are engaging in election canvassing to feed our bellies, says B. Grace, a daily wage labourer